Re: Bump Steer, SII handling, exhaustive

[DeepSouthScouts@xxxxxx]

Jeff,
The heim joints wont cause bump steer, but they do wear rapidly and are 
generally not used on daily drivers, though most are rebuildable.
In order for your front suspension to be generating bump steer, it generally 
would have to be lifted. If it hasnt been lifted, I dont see any way that bump 
steer could be generated.
You mentioned that it has caster shims. 
Is the wide part of the shim pointing to the front or to the rear of the 
truck? 
Wide to the rear would increase caster and improve handling to a point, wide 
to the front would decrease caster and worsen handling but is commonly done to 
improve the front driveshaft pinion angle when lifting a Scout II.
This shim placement isnt easily understood by some would be mechanics, and 
all too often the previous owners attempts to make it handle better are the 
cause of bad handling.
Extended shackles are another item of interest when looking for causes of 
problems of this sort.
May I suggest lowering your tire pressure a bit. Its a cheap and easy way to 
see if overinflation is the problem. Sometimes the manufacturers recommended 
pressure is too much. If it doesnt make a difference, air em back up.
You may be experiencing what I call "bounce steer". Your tires may actually 
bounce off the road while impacting a pothole causing your Scout to skitter 
(technical term) across the lane.
If you combine this effect with wider than stock tires, 1050, 1150, or 1250, 
it could make it worse.
In my experience, wider than stock tires tend to make a Scout II wander, even 
more so if the tread is worn down significantly.
Of course pay attention to tire temps, and dont run the pressure too low or 
it can cause problems.
I have had similar incidents to yours over the years. My stock, no lift, 72 
SII is a good example. With 30x1050x15 tires at 50 PSI (the day I bought it), 
it was almost undriveable. 
Darting and bouncing all over the road at the slightest pothole or bump. 
Lowering the tire pressure to 25 PSI made a marked improvement in the 
bouncing area, but it still wandered. A change to new 235x75x15 tires made it handle 
like a dream. 
One handed steering at 75 MPH, and no more bouncing or wandering at 35 PSI.
My 74 SII with SOA and 2" lift springs drove fine with 35x1250x15 BFG Mud 
Terrains as long as I kept the tire pressure at 20 to 25 PSI. 30 PSI or higher 
made it bounce around on the road.
YMMV
Hopefully this info will be of some help.
Mike Toney